Gap fans are bragging how they will march into Greenville Friday night and make a statement . I am sure they are better than last year , but a Statement ? I am sure Coach Norcross will have something for the mighty Buffalo Chips. Anyone ?
Buffalo Gap @ Riverheads
- Thread starter Xcross
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IMO Gap is the 2nd best team in the district. I think it will be a fairly close game. Riverheads 28 Gap 21
If I were to gamble , I believe your prediction is very good . With that said , I don't gamble and they have shown they are for real . Their volleyball fans think they will win by a large margin . RHS by a score late . jmo
I think it will be closer than the games have been in the past, without CCC rhs just ain't the same, I say rhs 35 to 21, I heard Giovanni is having a bison burger and buffalo chips special, jer wants to know if u want to have the special before the game, he is buying since it's at the first of the month, will have to be early so we can get a seat since they took our seats down, won't be wearing that fancy hat since it's suppose to be alot colder Fri evening GO BIG RED
Is it a shoulder injury with CCC? How long is he supposed to be out? I know he came back against LB, but left in the 1st quarter.
Yes shoulder, not sure how long he will be out, will be hard to win it all this year without him, sounds like Essex is on mission this year
Hopefully he won't miss the entire year. Very exciting player to watch
What time will you and J be at G's ? I am trying to get the corn out of the field so I will be pushed for time . Hope to see you there .
U name the time, might have to get it to go cause limit parking at school, jer needs the handicap parking, and need to get our seat if it's not already taking,
If we had time we would go to Armstrong in Verona and get there tenderloin special, what if we met at Frank's in Fairfield, will have to get to game early cause gap is ranked higher than rhs and will bring a big crowd, I heard they are the best team in churchville
This game will have to go a long way to top the JV game between the two on Wednesday. Read my review of that one if you have not already. It was a "slobberknocker" as Coach Casto used to say.
CalPreps predicts this game the same as you Gladiatorfencepatrol. 28-21 Riverheads.
Totally agree this years Riverheads team is a only a shell of its former self, from what I have seen. I see them out early in the playoffs. No way this team gets by Essex unless they drastically improve.
The final, in case anyone still needs to hear it, was 27-7 Riverheads but as indicated it was a closer game than that. In fact the game turned on a "go big or go home" gamble by the Bison early in the fourth quarter that did not work out for them, but had it instead gone their way, we might be having a different discussion.
They were trailing only 13-7 at the time. They had used up exactly half the third period clock to score their TD and cut the lead to a single score. Then on the ensuing RHS possession, the Big Red coughed it up on a fumble that almost went out of bounds. That switched Big Mo over to the Bison side and set them up to possibly score a tying TD.
However, some penalties (more on the flags in a minute) moved them back instead of forward and they soon found themselves facing 4th and 3 from their own 18. They lined up as if to punt, but snapped it to the up man, hoping to catch the defense off guard. Instead Riverheads sniffed it out and nailed him short of the first down. The Gladiators took that golden opportunity in for a clinching touchdown to make it 20-7 and then added one more in the final minutes.
As already hinted, neither team was very crisp tonight. In fact even though each made some great defensive plays, each was guilty of stopping itself as much as the opponent did. Throw in a zero-tolerance referee crew and you had a very flag happy game.
The Gladiators were hit with at least three or four major penalties (late hit, holding, etc.) and the Bison could not seem to focus on the play clocks at either end as they were flagged three different times for Delay of Game. On top of that, there must have been a dozen combined false start or offsides penalties. If you wanted to try and put a positive spin on those, you could say that each team was too eager or too anxious to keep the action going.
Regardless, my fellow G fan above is exactly right........the Gladiators need to work on some discipline and timing issues for sure but fortunately they have the remaining four district games left to work out those kinks, along with hopefully at least one easier playoff game before any big challenge would come along.
The big anticipation tonight was the question of whether or not Triple C would return to action. He did, but only on offense, so some Big Red fans took the position that if he had been able to go both ways, the Gladiators might have had an easier time of it.
In the early going, the Bison were stopping him and any other RHS back that carried the ball as we were very near the end of the first quarter before the Big Red finally got a first down. On the final play of the quarter, QB Bennett Dunlap surprised the Gap with a bootleg around left end that carried to the one. Cody Cash then sneaked it in on the first play of the second quarter. The PAT came up short, leaving RHS ahead 6-0.
If there was a first-half momentum swing, it came midway through the second quarter. The Bison had moved the ball effectively, helped along by some Big Red penalties, all the way down to the 11 for a first down. But a big stick by the Gladiator defense knocked them back and eventually led to a field goal attempt. The kick came close but no cigar as Riverheads held on to its 6-0 lead.
About three plays later, Triple C had his BIG run of the game and 65 yards later, the home fans were celebrating a 13-0 lead. That led to the fourth quarter finish as described above, as Luke Bryant and Triple C each scored from short range to cap off the scoring.
Although the Gladiators made their share of mistakes, as we all agree, they did do enough at the right times to keep the Bison running backs from having any big gains. If the Bison had any rushing play tonight of more than 10 yards, I don't remember it and their biggest pass play, which led to their only touchdown, was not more than 15-20 yards.
So overall, it wasn't pretty but rivalry games seldom are. The Bison came to play and as a result, it was one of the closest games in recent memory between the two. But the score is what really counts and the bottom line is that the winning streak in the series now stands at 16 straight Riverheads victories over their country cousins.
Meanwhile it sounds like the other two district matches tonight were competitive as well, so that six-team race I spoke of earlier this week may not be just my imagination! Riverheads welcomes Wilson next week for Homecoming and no one will be surprised if that one is just as rough as this one.
They were trailing only 13-7 at the time. They had used up exactly half the third period clock to score their TD and cut the lead to a single score. Then on the ensuing RHS possession, the Big Red coughed it up on a fumble that almost went out of bounds. That switched Big Mo over to the Bison side and set them up to possibly score a tying TD.
However, some penalties (more on the flags in a minute) moved them back instead of forward and they soon found themselves facing 4th and 3 from their own 18. They lined up as if to punt, but snapped it to the up man, hoping to catch the defense off guard. Instead Riverheads sniffed it out and nailed him short of the first down. The Gladiators took that golden opportunity in for a clinching touchdown to make it 20-7 and then added one more in the final minutes.
As already hinted, neither team was very crisp tonight. In fact even though each made some great defensive plays, each was guilty of stopping itself as much as the opponent did. Throw in a zero-tolerance referee crew and you had a very flag happy game.
The Gladiators were hit with at least three or four major penalties (late hit, holding, etc.) and the Bison could not seem to focus on the play clocks at either end as they were flagged three different times for Delay of Game. On top of that, there must have been a dozen combined false start or offsides penalties. If you wanted to try and put a positive spin on those, you could say that each team was too eager or too anxious to keep the action going.
Regardless, my fellow G fan above is exactly right........the Gladiators need to work on some discipline and timing issues for sure but fortunately they have the remaining four district games left to work out those kinks, along with hopefully at least one easier playoff game before any big challenge would come along.
The big anticipation tonight was the question of whether or not Triple C would return to action. He did, but only on offense, so some Big Red fans took the position that if he had been able to go both ways, the Gladiators might have had an easier time of it.
In the early going, the Bison were stopping him and any other RHS back that carried the ball as we were very near the end of the first quarter before the Big Red finally got a first down. On the final play of the quarter, QB Bennett Dunlap surprised the Gap with a bootleg around left end that carried to the one. Cody Cash then sneaked it in on the first play of the second quarter. The PAT came up short, leaving RHS ahead 6-0.
If there was a first-half momentum swing, it came midway through the second quarter. The Bison had moved the ball effectively, helped along by some Big Red penalties, all the way down to the 11 for a first down. But a big stick by the Gladiator defense knocked them back and eventually led to a field goal attempt. The kick came close but no cigar as Riverheads held on to its 6-0 lead.
About three plays later, Triple C had his BIG run of the game and 65 yards later, the home fans were celebrating a 13-0 lead. That led to the fourth quarter finish as described above, as Luke Bryant and Triple C each scored from short range to cap off the scoring.
Although the Gladiators made their share of mistakes, as we all agree, they did do enough at the right times to keep the Bison running backs from having any big gains. If the Bison had any rushing play tonight of more than 10 yards, I don't remember it and their biggest pass play, which led to their only touchdown, was not more than 15-20 yards.
So overall, it wasn't pretty but rivalry games seldom are. The Bison came to play and as a result, it was one of the closest games in recent memory between the two. But the score is what really counts and the bottom line is that the winning streak in the series now stands at 16 straight Riverheads victories over their country cousins.
Meanwhile it sounds like the other two district matches tonight were competitive as well, so that six-team race I spoke of earlier this week may not be just my imagination! Riverheads welcomes Wilson next week for Homecoming and no one will be surprised if that one is just as rough as this one.
Since the lost, rhs the last 2 games has been coming out flat, no energy, just like going thru the motions, lots of penalties, just seems like a different atmosphere with players and the fans, CCC coming back will help, the "d" is young, so keep on fighting in the district and we will see what happens come playoff time, gap shot themselves in the foot with all those penalties BEEP BEEP BEEP
Casto demanded discipline and perfection. Riverheads teams didnt beat themselves. This years team lacks discipline big time. Numerous penalties every game, that would have been unacceptable under Casto. Numerous fumbles. Offensive line was Castos baby, thats what its all about. When Casto was at the helm you didnt depend on 1 player, RB gets hurt he could have gotten anybody out of the stands to replace him and you wouldnt miss a beat. Not the case now.
Maybe didn’t depend on one player, but it would seem (anecdotally) everybody depended on Casto to enforce the discipline standard. IMO real programs are built by coaches who get EVERYONE in the program to enforce the standard. I know this will hurt feelings. Not my goal, but truth is truth.
I have seen this time & time again. Legendary coach is revered almost to god-like status and program immediately takes a step back when they leave. Players (& maybe asst coaches too?) depended on the coach & his elevated status to guide them. You want a team of critical thinkers who can get the right mentality without relying on one person to enforce it.
I have seen this time & time again. Legendary coach is revered almost to god-like status and program immediately takes a step back when they leave. Players (& maybe asst coaches too?) depended on the coach & his elevated status to guide them. You want a team of critical thinkers who can get the right mentality without relying on one person to enforce it.
Pump your brakes , a new staff still must earn the trust from the players and fan base. It has to be extremely tough for any coach to follow in Casto shoes , what coach accomplished was unheard of , give it some time FYI Riverheads still is a juggernaut. You guys been spoiled by perfection .
So Norcross is new? Are the players all freshmen? Did Casto not teach them to think for themselves & hold themselves accountable? Or was it just fear of their leader that kept them disciplined. That’s my point. Don’t misunderstand & twist my words.
Not even referring to your post lol , I’m replying in general to the entire topic. Norcross or staff is new I’m aware of that . But the regime change is new.
It’s not that the sky is falling but things we admittedly took for granted are not quite the same. There is still a damn good football team in Greenville with lots of upside. There were some small changes here and there from earlier in the year so the coaches are definitely looking at things and adjusting as they see fit. I have thought about this and don’t want to seem as though I am bashing the staff. It’s certainly different without Castos presence on the sideline but there are some really good coaches still involved. Will this team make it to and win in Salem? I will admit I don’t feel as strongly as I have in years past but that may be the case even if there wasn’t a coaching change.
Literally there are 5 or 6 new starters on defense that had opportunities to play but not full time like now. That is taking some time to work through in live game action. As mentioned the line play is still finding their footing. A few changes here and there and we will be just fine.
That all said, anyone who thought that things would just fall exactly in line hasn’t watched much football. At most levels following successful coaches is difficult at best. Doing that while trying to herd 30-50 fifteen to eighteen year old young men into a shared vision is quite another thing. As I stated after the loss the LB, coaching as an assistant then moving to the big chair takes a minute. The amount of information that you have to process changes as does your interaction with all of the people on staff that were your peers just a few months prior. Long term the outlook is great but I can see a learning curve which may not be what everyone wants to hear.
In the end I will still be at the fence supporting this years version of the Gladiators. Plenty of good hometown stories on this squad and lots to be proud of.
Literally there are 5 or 6 new starters on defense that had opportunities to play but not full time like now. That is taking some time to work through in live game action. As mentioned the line play is still finding their footing. A few changes here and there and we will be just fine.
That all said, anyone who thought that things would just fall exactly in line hasn’t watched much football. At most levels following successful coaches is difficult at best. Doing that while trying to herd 30-50 fifteen to eighteen year old young men into a shared vision is quite another thing. As I stated after the loss the LB, coaching as an assistant then moving to the big chair takes a minute. The amount of information that you have to process changes as does your interaction with all of the people on staff that were your peers just a few months prior. Long term the outlook is great but I can see a learning curve which may not be what everyone wants to hear.
In the end I will still be at the fence supporting this years version of the Gladiators. Plenty of good hometown stories on this squad and lots to be proud of.
Gosh this discussion is getting crazy! I will start by saying that I have always been a glass-half-full guy, so therefore I am not seeing all this doom and gloom that some of you guys are. So allow me to offer a different perspective.
First of all the team is 4-1 currently. Those four victories have come by an average score of 44 to 12. The one loss came to a highly-touted team that is two classifications above us, a team that is in the playoffs annually at their level, and a team that we might not have beaten last year if they had not suffered a key injury to a top player.
And speaking of which, are you guys forgetting that OUR star player got hurt in the first quarter of this year's game after he had already run for a 65 yard TD, which showed that LB was again going to have trouble stopping him? So had he stayed in that game, and remember we were ahead at the time he went out, we could very well have beaten them again.
Now I understand and agree that we are making some mistakes along the way, especially when it comes to penalties, but I am not seeing these wholesale turnovers that one of you mentioned. We fumbled exactly once against the Bison Friday and even that ended up helping us more than hurting us, because they went for the fake field goal afterwards, which allowed us to put the game away.
Another point you guys are missing is that the schedule has been a bit wacky. Teams need to play consistently every week to develop their best rhythm, so first we had that bye week and then we had the Westmoreland cancellation. All of that resulted in playing one game over about a three week period. That could explain some of the rustiness we saw Friday, not to mention that CCC needs some time to get back to full strength.
I certainly acknowledge that the district overall appears stronger this year, as I discussed in another thread last week. So we will learn a LOT MORE about Riverheads and the other five contenders here over these next four Friday nights. But I personally still see the Big Red as the best team in the district until one of the other five knocks us off, and I think we will see that improvement and consistency that is needed moving forward.
So is Riverheads dead in the water and headed for a shorter-than-usual season? I personally don't think so, but let's see what these next few weeks tell us.
First of all the team is 4-1 currently. Those four victories have come by an average score of 44 to 12. The one loss came to a highly-touted team that is two classifications above us, a team that is in the playoffs annually at their level, and a team that we might not have beaten last year if they had not suffered a key injury to a top player.
And speaking of which, are you guys forgetting that OUR star player got hurt in the first quarter of this year's game after he had already run for a 65 yard TD, which showed that LB was again going to have trouble stopping him? So had he stayed in that game, and remember we were ahead at the time he went out, we could very well have beaten them again.
Now I understand and agree that we are making some mistakes along the way, especially when it comes to penalties, but I am not seeing these wholesale turnovers that one of you mentioned. We fumbled exactly once against the Bison Friday and even that ended up helping us more than hurting us, because they went for the fake field goal afterwards, which allowed us to put the game away.
Another point you guys are missing is that the schedule has been a bit wacky. Teams need to play consistently every week to develop their best rhythm, so first we had that bye week and then we had the Westmoreland cancellation. All of that resulted in playing one game over about a three week period. That could explain some of the rustiness we saw Friday, not to mention that CCC needs some time to get back to full strength.
I certainly acknowledge that the district overall appears stronger this year, as I discussed in another thread last week. So we will learn a LOT MORE about Riverheads and the other five contenders here over these next four Friday nights. But I personally still see the Big Red as the best team in the district until one of the other five knocks us off, and I think we will see that improvement and consistency that is needed moving forward.
So is Riverheads dead in the water and headed for a shorter-than-usual season? I personally don't think so, but let's see what these next few weeks tell us.
I don’t think there is a question who the best team in the district is @longtimerhsfan. But winning a district title doesn’t mean what it used to when that was the way to get into the playoffs. Is it important, sure but not the be all end all it was years ago. That said most reasonable people see this team as very good but not quite on the level of the previous 7 versions, not yet anyway. It’s not blasphemy to question things and state that this team has some improving to do.
I do agree that we will see in the next few weeks what this team is made of. Friday against an improved Wilson team will be a test. Facing a completely bought in Staunton team with a pile of weapons will be a test. The slobber knocker that usually happens when we face Draft will be a test. I don’t mean to overlook Fort but that’s the only slight breather before playoffs start.
I do agree that we will see in the next few weeks what this team is made of. Friday against an improved Wilson team will be a test. Facing a completely bought in Staunton team with a pile of weapons will be a test. The slobber knocker that usually happens when we face Draft will be a test. I don’t mean to overlook Fort but that’s the only slight breather before playoffs start.
Youre exactly right, fear of the leader, I have had several former and current players tell me they were afraid to make a mistake under Casto for fear of getting yelled at. Norcross yells but then apologizes to them later.
Ask yourself , what other team in the State is in the position the Red Team is in today ? The answer is zero . Time will tell how the new leadership can follow the footsteps of what might have been the best Head Coach in this State's History . I see concern but no panic . TRUE TIGER was right on with his post . JMO
Prime example of the drop off, how many times have you seen Riverheads stopped on 4th and less than a yard? Happened twice in the Tazewell game and theyre not exactly a powerhouse. Im really concerned, almost panic. Next couple of weeks will tell us more. I hope its like longtimer said, just rust but my gut and eyes tell me its s little more than that. Hope im wrong.
